Cliff Hanger
by Elizabeth Anamon
Summary: When Nick is investigated in a murder cold case, the team questions his integrity. What really happened on the cliff? Nick should know better than to lie to the police. CHAPTER 7 IS UP! Now Complete!
1. Chapter 1

**Title Cliff Hanger**

**Summery When Nick is investigated in a murder cold case, the team questions his integrity. What really happened on the cliff? Nick should know better than to lie to the police. **

**Rating T, just to be safe.**

**Comments This fic is full of flashbacks, and the first chapter doesn't have anyone from the show in it, Nick is just mentioned. But stick with me. Oh, and this will be an unconventional ship pairing. Read and find out.**

**Disclaimer I don't own the characters Nick Stokes, Catherine Willows, Warrick Brown, Greg Sanders, Sara Sidle, Gill Grissom, Conrad Ecklie or Dad Stokes (Nick's dad has two lines in a later chapter). Melissa Woods, Tanner Woods, John Blevins, and Kerstin Salazar are mine (also Jeda and Bolt if horses count).

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Melissa Woods sat in the attic of her home in Dallas, Texas. She had nothing more productive to do, so she had decided to go through some of her old things. Pictures, keepsakes, rusty junk and long-forgotten memories littered the floor of the dimly lit room. The woman dragged another box out from under the eves. She removed her sandal and hastily swatted the large brown recluse spider that had scurried out of his cardboard home. She blew the dust off the top of the box. Written in faded black marker was "Tanner's Notebooks." Just like that, year's worth of memories flooded her mind. Her son Tanner had only been fifteen when he died twenty years ago. He had been horseback riding with his best friend when the horse got spooked, reared up and threw her only child off the side of one hundred foot high Buckman's Cliff. The death had been ruled an accident.

Melissa carefully opened the box and removed a green composition book with a broken black binding. She sighed sadly when she saw the edges of the paper. The silverfish and moths had obviously been feasting away at her lost child's writings. This was the first time she had opened this box sense she had paced it away all those years ago. She opened the notebook and turned to the very last page. She had never read any of these before; the memory had been too painful. But tonight she just could not stop herself. She began to read his final entry, dated July fourteenth, the day he died. What she read would haunt her:

_I can't take it anymore. Lying hurts too much. Nick's my best friend. He has to know the truth, that… _The remainder of the line had been a meal for a moth. _He won't be happy about it, but he has to listen. I know he'll be angry, he might even hate me, but I just can't stand it anymore._

Nick. Melissa remembered Nick Stokes. He was a good kid from an upstanding family. He was the one Tanner had been riding with when he died. Melissa wondered now what Tanner had planned to say to Nick. Did he get a chance to say it? How did Nick react?

How did Nick react?

That question echoed in her mind until she thought she had the answer.

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Detective John Blevins of the Dallas Police Department sat in his office awaiting the mother of a boy who died twenty years ago. He worked in the cold case unit and the woman said she thought she had new information concerning her son's death. He thought it sounded serious enough to speak with hr in person. His nose was buried in the old case file when the woman walked in.

"Detective Blevins," the woman said.

The cop looked up from his desk. "Hello, Mrs. Woods. Please come in and sit down.

Melissa Woods came in and seated herself in the wooden armchair in front of the detective's desk.

"Now Mrs. Woods," Blevins began, "I've reviewed your son's case file, and it appears that Tanner's death was ruled an accident."

"Yes, but." The woman reached into her purse and produced the old notebook. She opened it to the last page and set it an the desk in front of the detective, "I have reason to believe that Tanner may have been murdered."

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**TBC. I'm building up to something. See you next chapter (I hope).**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks guys for the great reviews. I post quickly. Here is the craved chapter two of Cliff Hanger. Oh, and this is where the unconventional ship sales in ;D

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8:30 am. It had been a long night and a gruesome shift, and Nick and Catherine were unwinding. That is, if making out on Nick's couch constitutes unwinding. Their mouths were looked in a passionate kiss and his fingers were tangled in her blond hair when a knock at the door threatened to kill the mood. Nick started to get up to answer, but Catherine pulled him back.

"Let them knock." She said.

For just a moment longer they continued as they were, but the second knock officially did them in. "Dallas police department, open up!" a voice on the other side of the door ordered.

"What in the hell?" Catherine gasped in astonishment.

"Oh, god," Nick dreaded, "I hope my family's not in any sort of danger."

Nick got up to answer the door. Catherine fluffed her hair in an attempt to render herself halfway presentable. Nick opened the door to see two detectives standing there. The man was tall and thin, friendly looking with salt-and-pepper colored hair.

The woman, however, was like a lion next to this tabby cat. She too was tall, but also sort of chubby. Here fair skin could have blended in with snow if Las Vegas had any,

and her tar black hair was pulled so tightly in a bun that her eyebrows raised. She wore a stern, cold look on her face by which Nick was already intimidated, though he did not know why. Yet.

The man in Nick's doorway initiated the conversation. "Are you Nicholas Stokes?" He asked sternly but kindly.

"I prefer Nick, but yeah, that's me."

"Mr. Stokes, I'm detective John Blevins," he motioned to the woman next to him, "This is Kerstin Salazar. We're with the Dallas Police Department cold case unit. Do you mind if we ask you a few questions?"

"Sure, come on in." Nick stepped aside to allow the detectives to enter and closed the door behind them.

Immediately, the lion went on the prowl. "Mr. Stokes, we will need to speak to you alone." Salazar stated in a hotty, matter-of fact tone.

"Catherine, could you…"

"I'll go to bed and wait for you," she said. Nick sat don in a chair and motioned for the detectives to be seated on the couch. Nick new, but did not mind, that Catherine had quietly slipped into the kitchen to eavesdrop.

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this unexpected visit?" Nick was extremely curious. The fact that they were from the cold case unit ruled out any dire situation his family may have been in.

"Mr. Stokes…"

"Nick, please."

"Nick, " the male detective proceeded, pen and notebook in hand, "Do you remember a boy named Tanner Woods?"

Nick felt the demon from his past punch him in the stomach. _Stay cool, Nicky. The chick can probably smell fear, _"Yeah, I remember Tanner. He was my best friend. We met in kindergarten and were like this until he died." Nick held up his hand with two crossed fingers. "Is that what you're here about?"

"Yes." Salazar answered.

"Nick, could you please tell us, in your own words, to the best of your memory, what happened the day tanner was killed."

Nick took a deep breath to wash down his trip down memory lane and began to tell his story. "It was pretty early in the morning during the summer. Tanner and I practically lived in the stables with the horses. We would go riding on my dad's land nearly every day. I rode my hose, Bolt, and Tanner rode Jeda, my sister's horse. She didn't mind. That day we decided to go to our favorite spot, Buckman's Cliff."

Detective Salazar interrupted, "And whose idea was it?"

"Excuse me?" Nick did not quite understand what she was asking.

"Who said 'hay, let's go to the cliff today'?"

"Tanner did." Nick said confidently.

"Please continue, Nick," Blevins urged.

"Well, when we got to the cliff, Tanner steered Jeda over close to the edge. I was already off Bolt and had tied him to a tree. I moved a big rock over so I could sit on it, but there was a rattlesnake under it, and I woke it up. It immediately started striking everywhere, and I screamed and jumped out of the way. I guess all the commotion scared Jeda. She started kicking, and then she reared up and bucked. Tanner couldn't hold on to her and he fell off and over the side of the cliff. I panicked for a minute, then I calmed Jeda down, tied her up so she wouldn't run away, untied Bolt, and rode home to tell my dad what happened."

Nick felt winded after telling that story and paused for a moment to ketch his breath. "I never went back to that cliff again."

The woman, who had been following along with Nick's original report, turned to her partner. "His story seems to match the report he gave hen he was fourteen." She turned back to Nick and asked, "Why didn't you just ride Jeda back sense she was already lose?"

"Because she had just gotten over a spook. I didn't want to endanger myself." The lady detective did not seem satisfied with the answer, but did not pres the issue further. "I don't mean to get defensive, but I thought this case had been ruled an accident."

"Originally it was." Salazar reached into her briefcase, retrieved a paper and set it down on the coffee table a little harder than was necessary. The sound of her hand hitting the table made Nick feel like he was in an interrogation room, not in his usual position, but the hot seat. "This is a photo copy of a journal entry Tanner made the day he was killed. Do you have any idea what he was talking about?"

Nick read the entry without taking it off the table,

_I can't take it anymore. Lying hurts too much. Nick's my best friend. He has to know the truth, that…_

_He won't be happy about it, but he has to listen. I know he'll be angry, he might even hate me, but I just can't stand it anymore._

"This is the first I've heard of anything like this."

"You have no idea what he needed to tell you?"

"No. He must have fallen before he could tell me. That might be why he wanted to go there that day; so we wouldn't be interrupted by anyone." Then Nick realized the gravity of what was going on.

He was being investigated for murder.

"Are you guys trying to say that I killed Tanner? That I _pushed_ him!" The detectives stared at him blankly. "No. I didn't kill my best friend. Even if he had a chance to tell me whatever it was on the cliff, I would have never killed him for it. We were best friends, we went through everything together." His pleading eyes bounced back and forth between the two detectives across from him.

Blevins stood up from the couch, and Nick followed. He felt small enough without an authority figure towering over him. Blevins reached out his hand and Nick reluctantly shook it. "You have a nice day, Nick. I'm sorry we bothered you." He looked at Salazar, who had remained seated. She did not want to leave. Nick knew that in her mind he had already been tried, convicted and sentenced to eternity's hellfire.

The woman reluctantly stood. "Mr. Stokes, I'll leave that paper with you, just in case you suddenly remember something the moment we walk out the door." Blevins shot Salazar a death glance from the underworld. If looks could kill, Kerstin Salazar would have been dead and buried.

Nick wasted no time showing out his guests after her little remark. "You two have a nice day he willed to them and closed the door. The sound of the latch clicking was music to his ringing ears.

"Who on God's earth does that bitch detective think she is?" Catherine exclaimed as she came out of the kitchen. "That's my Nicky she's accusing of murder."

"She's just doing her job, Cath, you know that. Come on. Let's go get some sleep."

_oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo_

_Nick and Tanner sat on the fence eating apples. It was about seven in the morning and they had just fed the horses. The sun was just starting to warm the air and a cool gentle breeze was blowing. It was a perfect morning on July fourteenth, 1986._

_Tanner tossed his apple core at Bolt's hooves and watched intently as the horse ate it._

"_I'm bored, Nick. What should we do?"_

_Nick tossed his apple down and looked up at the sky. "It's still early," he said, "Let's go to Buckman's Cliff."

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**TBC. Did you ketch the little white lie? I know I may have shippers of snickers, grillows, yobling, and slash reading, but Nick and Catherine's relationship is not the main focus. Please stay with me! R&R and I hope to see you next chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Again, thanks so much for the reviews. Thanks to Mma63 for staying with me despite the Stillows ship. I replied to some of you. As a token of my thanks, I bring to you chapter three of Cliff Hanger.

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Nick and Catherine walked into the Las Vegas crime lab at time on the dot. They had agreed to keep the visit from the Dallas cold case unit a secret. Nick could feel that something was not right in the building, but Catherine seemed not to be phased. Maybe that was because she was not being investigated for her best friend's murder.

The two CSIs hoped for good coffee when they arrived in the break room, but what they discovered was a black goop.

"Aw, man, this is not my day." Nick complained. Catherine laughed. "Why are you laughing? Look at it." This only made her laugh harder. "That's not coffee, that's oil. I'm not talking motor oil, I'm talking crude oil straight out of the ground and into the pot, skip the refinery."

"Fossil fuels served as refreshments, courtesy of Conrad Ecklie." Catherine chuckled. "No wonder the price of gas is so high."

"No joke. Let's go find Grissom for our assignments."

Perfect timing. Just then Grissom appeared in the doorway. "I have them right here."

"Where is everyone else?" Catherine asked.

"Warrick, Sara, and Greg got called in early on a quadruple homicide. They just got back from the scene and will be processing evidence all night." Grissom held up the papers in his hand. "Catherine, you and I are on a B&E tonight."

"Let me guess," Nick predicted, "You have a 419 for me?"

"This 419 is for Warrick." Grissom corrected. "Nick, I need you to help Sara and Greg process evidence."

Nick got a confused look on his face. "Not to question your authority Gris, but wouldn't it just be easier to leave Warrick on the quadruple and let me have the 419?"

Grissom sighed and motioned with his eyes for Catherine to leave the room. When they were alone in the room, Grissom said, "Nick, it's not that I don't trust you. It's orders from Ecklie and my hands are tied. I'm not allowed to put you in the field until this whole thing blows over. I'm sorry."

"What are you talking about."

"We got a visit from the Dallas PD cold case unit."

"Holly sh…" Nick stopped himself before hurling vulgarities.

"Nicky, what's going on?" It was Warrick standing in the doorway.

"I thought the detectives from Dallas told you everything." He said sarcastically.

"Nick," Grissom said in a calm, soothing voice, "We want to here it from you."

He let out a frustrated sigh. "Basically, Tanner and I went to Buckman's Cliff I moved over a rock and woke up a rattlesnake that started striking everywhere, Jeda got spooked, reared up and threw Tanner off the cliff. I told that to the police twenty years ago, and now they found some written-in-the-heat-of-a-moment journal entry and want to pin me for murder with no evidence and nothing but the hunch of a grieving mother and a bitchy ice-woman detective."

"Man, don't get so worked up." Warrick said. "You don't have to defend yourself to us. It's not like we think you actually flipped out and killed the kid."

"Tell that to Ecklie!" Nick shoved his friend out of the way and stormed out.

Warrick would not have to tell anything to Ecklie; he had been standing outside the door eavesdropping. "What I don't understand is why he started ranting about the evidence, or lack there of, I should say." He said.

"Because he's a CSI." Grissom reasoned.

"Yes, I can see that. But what I mean is, why is he getting defensive?"

Warrick defended Nick. "He's stressed out, man. Lay off him. How would you feel if someone said you flung your best friend off a 100-foot high cliff? You're not helping matters, either."

"You have to understand my position, Warrick. I can't put a murder suspect on the field."

"You just stood here questioning his integrity!"

"Hay, chill. Isn't it you guys who say not to assume anything? To assume makes an ass out of you and me."

"No, just you. Grissom, man, give me my damn 419."

Grissom said nothing. He only handed the man the file and let him walk away.

"Are you going to let your guy speak to me that way? Gil, I have to do my job."

"You don't have to question the integrity of my guys."

"But I do have to look at all angles, Gil. You don't want to admit it but I know that in some part of your super-nerd head of yours you saw a point in what I said. This smells fishy."

Grissom was to proud, and to loyal to Nick, to admit that Ecklie was, in a sense, right.

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**TBC. Well, that's chapter three. Tell me what you think. There will be more thickening to take place, so I'll see you next chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Wow! I got some great reviews. Thank you for taking the time to R&R. I hope this chapter will be as good as the others. Let's get on with chapter four of Cliff Hanger. Once more, the plot thickens…

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The evidence was processed, the coffee was hot and fresh, and Greg, Nick, and Sara were rightfully tiered. The trio had just about had all it could take of fingerprints, DNA, bloody shoe prints, and gunshot residue. The group was reclining in the break room, each with a cup of steaming Hawaiian blend coffee.

"I'll almost say… hell, I will say that I hope Hodges takes forever with those samples." Greg admitted.

"I actually want to know what he's got for us." Sara opposed. "I want to get this ball rolling so we can solve this case."

"That's because you're a workaholic who never sleeps." Greg said. "Nick, on the other hand, looks like he's about to fall asleep in his chair."

Nick shook his head swiftly to wake himself up. "I didn't get much sleep last night…yesterday…whatever." He yawned and then took a large sip from his coffee mug.

"You know," Greg suggested, "Maybe considering the, uh, situation, Grissom might let you go early."

"Actually, I was going so see if Warrick needed any help with his case after I finish my coffee."

"I'm through as far as processing evidence is concerned." Warrick said as he entered the room and made his way to the coffee pot.

"Well, what do you know? That's all I'm allowed to do."

"Nick, why don't you tell us what's going on here?" Sara urged.

"Yeah," Greg agreed. "All we've heard is some bits and pieces."

"Well I've heard this story twice. Once from Detective Salazar, that bitch, and once from you, man."

"Well, third time's a charm." Nick faced Greg and Sara and asked, "How much did you actually hear?"

Greg answered, "Our story came from Hodges, who got his story from Ecklie, who…"

"Okay, okay, you can stop at Ecklie." Nick began his story yet again. "In a nutshell, here it is. Tanner and I were at this place on my dad's land called Buckman's Cliff. Tanner was on the horse near the edge. I moved over a rock and woke up a rattlesnake. It got mad, started striking everywhere, Tanners horse went ballistic and started rearing and bucking and threw Tanner over the side of the cliff."

"And how long ago was this?" Sara inquired.

"About twenty years."

"So what are the police doing reopening the case?"

"From what Detective Blevins told me, I get that Tanner's mom found an old journal entry he made the day it happened. In it he said he needed to tell me something that would piss me off. The entry didn't say what it was that he needed to tell me and I guess he either never got a chance to say it or he just decided not to. I'm clueless on that note."

Just as Nick was finishing his story, Catherine poked her head into the room. "Just stopped in to let you guys know Grissom and I are back."

"How much evidence do you have to process?" Nick asked. "I'm board."

"A lot. Come on."

When Nick had left the room, Sara said, "I don't mean to question Nick's innocence, but that story he just told is the type of thing that usually doesn't get good reviews from detectives."

Greg's eyes widened as he listened to her. "Hay, are you saying that it's not true, what he said, happened at the cliff?"

"No, I never implied anything like that. I just said that _type_ of story usually isn't quite kosher."

Greg shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

Warrick, who has leaning against the counter, slammed his coffee cup down and declared, "Never in the entire time I've known Nicky has he ever lied to me. I don't care if he said a giant spider ate Tanner. It doesn't have to be kosher for me. I'm not Jewish."

As Warrick stormed out of the break room, he wondered if he was trying to defend Nick to Sara or to himself.

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Melissa Woods had not allowed herself to sleep sense her son's case had been reopened. She never let the nearest telephone out of her sight. Her patience paid off when she finally got the call.

"Hello." She answered.

"Mrs. Woods, this is Detective Blevins calling from Las Vegas. We found and interviewed Nick Stokes."

"And?" She urged him to proceed.

"Mrs. Woods, he's sticking to his original story. I'm afraid there's nothing more we can do with this case."

"Dig deeper!" Melissa demanded.

"I'm sorry, but there's no where deeper to dig. You knew reopening a twenty-year-old cold case was a long shot from the beginning. Even with the cooperation from the Las Vegas Police Department…"

"You informed the police in Vegas?"

"We had to, Mrs. Woods. He's is a crime scene investigator. Now I need to call the sheriff and let him know we're closing the case so Stokes can get on with his life."

"Nick Stokes didn't let my son get on with his life!"

Blevins sighed sadly. "Mrs. Woods, your son's death was an accident. That's my professional as well as personal opinion. Now blame whomever you want, but this case is closed."

Melissa died a little inside when she heard the click of detective Blevins hanging up the phone.

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The Dallas airport was crowded and noisy. People of many different nationalities, races, and languages milled and meandered through the lobby.

"Flight 112 to Las Vegas, Nevada," The announcement called. Melissa Woods lugged her suitcase to the counter and showed the man her boarding pass and ticket.

"Right this way, please, and have a nice flight."

Nice flight. Right. It wasn't as if she was on a vacation. She was on a mission.

Melissa found her seat by a window and sat down. She did not slouch of recline; her posture was proper and professional. She had no intentions of sleeping on this flight. She did not want relaxation or fun, she wanted justice and revenge. Even before she had found the journal entry, she had always blamed Nick for what happened, and a certain suspicion had always been festering at the back of her mind. Now she was sure. She had to set things right._ If Blevins won't do anything, I sure as hell will.

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**TBC. The angst is on the way. See you next chapter.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Again, I thank everyone for the great reviews. Sorry it took me longer to post this time. Here you go, chapter five of Cliff Hanger!

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By the end of the shift, Nick already missed the field. After all, he was a CSI, not a lab tech. He was glad to leave the building at shift's end. He had just clocked out and was about to walk out the door when Grissom came up behind him.

"Nick, I have good news," his supervisor announced, "I just got a call from Detective Blevins. Dallas has called off the dogs. You're a free man."

Nick sighed with relief. "Thank God. Looks like I'm back in the field night after next. Tomorrow's my night off."

"I'll see you then."

Nick stepped out of the heat of the building and into the cool air of the desert morning. The sky was a brilliant blend of light blues, pink, and orange as the light consumed what was left of the black night. Not only was it beautiful, it was symbolic. The sunrise mirrored the relief and tranquility Nick felt.

As he strolled to his SUV, his mind was filled with fond and happy memories of his best friend Tanner Woods for the first time sense the incident. Before he had never been able to think about Tanner without remembering his tragic death; he was glad to finally be able the think about the good times. He decided that today would be the day he was finally at peace with the events of July fourteenth, 1986.

"Nick!" Nick turned around to see Catherine rushing to catch up with him. "Hay, did Grissom give you the good news?'

"Yep. I've officially been cleared. Do you want to go celebrate?" Nick winked and grinned.

Catherine grinned back at him and mimed raising a glass. "Cheers to no more bitch from Dallas."

"To closure." Nick added.

"To the administration of justice."

"To us."

On their way to Nick's house, the two of them conversed fixed on no particular subject, both anticipating an ordinary day.

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11:00 a.m, Melissa Woods waited in a black Jeep Cherokee rental car down the street from Nick's house. She had a lot of ideas, but no sure plan as to how to carry out her quest for revenge. _I could shoot him. Run him off the road and make him wreck. Bring him to the roof of a building and make him fall to his death just like he did to Tanner. _

But before she could do anything, she had to be sure she could get him alone. As she watched the house, she tried to sort through unanswered questions. _Why are their two cars in the driveway? Is he married? Does he have children?_

While she was sorting through these questions, she saw Nick walk out of the house with a blond haired woman who, of cores, Melissa did not recognize. She saw him walk the woman to her car and kiss her goodbye. _So he's married. _As Melissa watched Catherine pull out of the driveway, she came up with her most diabolical plan of all.

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About thirty minutes after Catherine left, Nick had fallen asleep on the couch. He was awakened by his phone ringing. He sat up slowly and answered it. "Hello?" He groaned groggily."

"You sound tiered." A familiar voice said. He wasn't quite sure yet who she was, but he knew he had heard that voice somewhere. "I hope you slept well, because after today, you'll never close your eyes in peace again. Do you know who is calling you?"

"No, who are you?"

She did not answer him directly. "I came to Nevada to kill you, to make you pay for what you did to my son." Now Nick new. "But I decided not to kill you. I can hurt you worse then a bullet through your heart would. I can make you suffer the pain of loss you forced on me."

"Oh my god." Nick said in horror. _Catherine._

"I'm following the woman you love now. Is she your wife? Girlfriend? Fiancée? I'm right behind her, and she has no idea that the grill of her fancy SUV is about to kiss a big ol' Mac truck. Taste pain, MURDERER!"

"NO!" Nick screamed, but it was to late. All he could hear was the dull hum of the dial tone; the most awful, haunting sound he had ever heard.

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**TBC. Whew! I'll see you next chapter. Hay, the title is Cliff Hanger, what did you expect? **


	6. Chapter 6

**Hay yawl, once again I thank my fans for all the great reviews. Sorry it took me longer to post. What do you get when you mix a vengeful mother, an unsuspecting CSI, and a semi? A very angsty Chapter six of Cliff Hanger!

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With the windows down and Fallout Boy's "I Write Sins, not Tragedies" blasting on the radio, Catherine traveled through the light traffic of the highway. After she left Nick's house, she had decided that the beautiful, sunny day was perfect to go for a drive. She heard her cell phone ring tone, for which she had purposely selected the most annoying ringing-beeping noise she could find, and reached to the console to end the infernal headache-inducing racket. A smile broke across her face when she saw Nick's number light up the screen. _He misses me already._

"Hay, Nicky. Did you miss me?"

"Catherine, you have to get off the main road right now and call highway patrol. There's someone following you and she's going to wreck you. She wants to kill you!"

"What?" The Nick's frantic tone and the nature of his call made her nervous. "Who? Why?"

"Cath, I'll explain later, just…" He was interrupted by a deafening crash, followed by the worse sound ever uttered: Catherine screaming. "Catherine!"

Catherine dropped the phone, and it closed as it fell to the floorboard. Nick heard the dull hum of the dial tone for the second time in the longest, most agonizing five minutes of his life.

Nick let the phone fall from his hands. He was shaking and in tears in fear for Catherine's life. He was panicking. He couldn't think straight. He had no clue what to do. He slumped down on to the couch, buried his face in his hands and took several shaky breaths in an attempt to calm himself. _I can't call highway patrol_; _I don't even_ _know where Catherine and Melissa_ _are. What am I going to do, what am I going to do? Holly shit, the woman I love could be dead and it's my own damn fault._

After a while when he had calmed himself enough to think, he decided what to do. He stood up gradually on shaking legs and grabbed his keys and sunglasses from the coffee table. He was going to go to the lab, see if Grissom was still there, and if he was, tell him what was going on. After all, he was, technically, a witness to a crime. To report it was his moral and legal obligation, and his best and only plan.

_ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo_

Melissa Woods glared with evil intent at the Denali in front of her. This was her center, her focus, her one and only goal in life. As she hung up the phone from her conversation with Nick, she flung it in the back seat and inched up to the point where her bumper almost touched that of the vehicle in front of her. They were going at the same speed as the semi truck next to them. In Melissa's plan, she would rear end Catherine, slam on the gas and force her ahead of the 18-whealer, then jerk left, sending her target to the right, into the path of the semi. She had to act fast because he new that the SUV was about to pull up on it's own and pass the enormous machine she planned to use as the murder weapon. If this happened, she would have to move on to plan "B", which she did not have at the moment.

The vengeful woman took a deep breath. _This is it._ She let herself fall back a few feet, than floured the gas pedal. The Cherokee crashed into the Denali, and Melissa kept her foot glued to the gas pedal, driving it into the floorboard.

"What? Who? Why?" Catherine was alarmed and confused. Before she could here Nick's reply, she felt and heard a car crash into the back of her. She screamed a frightened, startled scream and dropped the phone. In a split second she realized she was still moving forward. She had to think quickly; no time to panic. She slammed on her break, but still she moved forward slowly, and she realized what the driver of the aggressing vehicle was trying to do. In retaliation, Catherine shifted into reverse and floured the gas pedal. He seatbelt had tightened and was holding her to tightly to the seat, so she took one hand off the steering wheal and unbuckled herself.

The semi passed them, to Catherine's relief and Melissa's dismay, and the two vehicles idled in a standstill. Gradually, they began to move backwards. Their struggling produced a loud screeching sound from the tiers.

Melissa was astonished. _How can someone think this quickly under such pressure? _She did not give up. She continued to press the gas pedal until she got an idea. _I can beat this bitch at her own game._ Melissa put on the breaks, shifted into reverse, and again floured the gas pedal.She planned to do this for a few seconds then slam on the breaks, back out with Catherine still stopped, and flee the scene. _After all, I can always go back to the original plan of killing Nick._

Melissa's plan would have worked (Catherine continued to go in reverse with Melissa) had she not neglected the rear-view mirror. She only heard the blaring of a horn; one that sounded like it came from a large vehicle. She looked up into the mirror and saw the grill of an 18-whealer, only for a split second.

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**TBC. Just one more chapter will answer what happened to Melissa and Catherine, why did Nick lie, and the oh so awaited what the f'ck happened on Buckman's Cliff. See you next chapter! This is where all those flashbacks come in. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Ok, folks. Here's the seventh and final chapter of Cliff Hanger. Oh, and in response to SA-Kate973 and anyone else it might have bothered, it might be Panic at the disco that sings I write sins not tragedies.

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**

Nick flew through the doors of the crime lab and ran towards Grissom's office. As he turned a corner, he crashed into Ecklie, littering the floor with the files he war carrying.

"Nick, what in the hell? Look what you made me do."

"Sorry, Conrad. Is Grissom still here?"

"You just missed him. He clocked out about twenty minutes ago."

"Shit!" Nick cursed and kicked the wall.

"Hay, what is your problem?"

"My problem is that my past is coming back to haunt me like a poltergeist conjured by the devil himself! The woman I love could be dead or dying as we speak at the hands of Melissa Woods because she wants to make me pay for something I didn't even do! I have no idea where they are or what to do. That's my fucking problem!"

Ecklie looked at Nick in alarm. "Nick, what is going on?"

Melissa Woods is Tanner's mother. She called my house and told me that she was about to kill Catherine to make me suffer the way she suffered or some shit like that. The minute we hung up I called Catherine to tell he to get off the main rode, and the last thing I heard was her screaming."

"Holly hell."

"My reaction, too. They were driving down the highway somewhere. I couldn't think of anything else to do, so I came here."

"Make a mess, why don't we?" Sara stopped in the middle of the hallway, surveying the scattered papers.

Ecklie coked his head and glared at Sara. "What are you doing here? I thought you already left."

"I did, but I was a moron and left my police scanner in ballistics. I think Bobby's been messing with it." She held it up and fiddled with the tuning. Over the static, they heard someone whose voice they recognized as Sergeant Orion from traffic. They couldn't make out the location.

Nick's mind went back to his conversation with Melissa. _She has no idea that the grill of her fancy SUV is about to kiss a big ol' Mac truck._ Nick stood juggling scenarios in his head while Ecklie bent down to gather to strewn papers.

"Nick, what's wrong?" Sara asked, concerned. "You look pale." Nick did not answer. "Nick?"

"I know where Catherine and Melissa are." Nick abruptly turned and went in the direction he had come.

Ecklie called after him. "Nick, you need to make a formal report!"

Nick stopped. _How could he be so heartless? It's like he doesn't even care what happens to Catherine. _He turned around and slowly walked back towards Ecklie. "Formal went over a cliff with my best friend. Formal was demolished by the crash I heard over the phone. You can shove formal up your ass, Conrad! I'm going to go find Catherine."

"Nick," Ecklie protested, but it was to late. He was on his way out.

_ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo_

Nick was lucky he did not get pulled over for speeding. His personal vehicle did not have lights and sirens, or else they would have been blaring at this point. He was flying down the highway at eighty miles an hour, weaving in an out of traffic, and it was a miracle he did not have his own crash. He had called Sergeant Orion not long after he left the lab. He told the officer that he had reason to believe the crash involved a CSI, so he told him where the crash sight was. Traffic was backed up almost a mile. As Nick waited in the jam, he ran through his head every possible way this could turn out. Finally, he could not take the suspense any longer. He put his car in park hopped out and ran as fast as he could. This was a risky move, but he did not care.

When he reached the crash sight, he was exhausted and out of breath. He surveyed the scene of the worst looking accident he had ever seen. The SUV in front practically had no back now. Sandwiched between the barely damaged semi and the crushed Denali was an unrecognizable hunk of debris that must have in some lifetime been a car. Several yards in front of the wreckage were multiple lines of skid marks. Nick wondered what had happened here. His horrified trance was broken when he heard someone call his name.

"Stokes!"

"Hu? Oh, Hey, Orion. What happened here?" The traffic Sergeant lead the CSI away from the crowd of people who were gathering to watch the show. He pointed to the wreck in front of them.

"The driver of the semi was uninjured, and he says that these two SUVs were going in reverse and crashed into him. The driver of the middle vehicle had ID on her. The name's Melissa Woods. As you can see, the paramedics are already here. Mrs. Woods has been pronounced dead. The driver of the Denali in front was your co-worker, Catherine Willows. She's been stabilized and it looks like she's going to be okay."

Nick almost collapsed with relief. As much as he wanted to be by Catherine's side, he decide the investigation could use an explanation. He repeated what he had told Ecklie, only with less cussing, and what had happened with the investigation into Tanner's death.

"My word you've had an eventful past couple of days, haven't you?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Sarg." Nick jogged over to the other side of the crushed Denali. His heart cried out at the sight of Catherine lying on the ground unconscious and bleeding from an open gash on her forehead.

"She probably has a concussion." He sort of heard a paramedic say. "She has some crushed ribs and it's putting pressure on her lungs."

Nick backed up to give the men more room to work as they lifted his love onto the stretcher and wheeled her to the ambulance.

Nick looked towards the other vehicle (what was left of it anyway) and saw the white, bloodstained sheet that covered the other body. Melissa. _How could this be the same woman that took our team out for pizza after soccer practice? _A cruel reality settled over him then. This was not the same woman. This was a woman consumed with rage, grief, and vengeance. For years the woman had no one to blame, and sometimes that's all a person needs. Tanner's last journal gave Melissa what she needed, but she took it to far. In the end, her quest for vengeance and justice consumed and destroyed her. She just wanted justice for her son. But there was no such thing as justice for what happened to Tanner, no closure for the way he died. There never was, and there never would be.

_oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo _

Nick sat by Catherine's hospital bed holding her hand. "Wake up, baby. Please?" Catherine must have heard him. Her eyes fluttered open and she squinted against the light.

"Nicky?"

"I'm here, love." He squeezed her hand and she squeezed back.

"Who was that bitch who tried to kill me?"

"Tanner's mother, Melissa Woods. She went after you to make we suffer the way she suffered. She obviously thought I killed Tanner. She doesn't have to live with grief anymore. She was pronounced dead at the scene." Nick slipped out of his chair and knelt down beside her. "I'm so sorry Catherine. I'm so sorry this had to happen to you."

"It isn't your fault."

"I should have…"

"Nicky,' she interrupted, "There's nothing you could have said or done to stop Melissa."

"I should have done something twenty years ago."

Catherine was confused. "What's that?"

Nick sighed with regret. "I should have told the truth."

Catherine was shocked. _Nicky lied! _To that point Catherine had been the only one in the lab who never once doubted any part of Nick's story. Ironic. She was the only one who believed his lie, and he was telling her the truth. "Nicky, it's not the way Melissa thought. Is it?" Nick did not answer. "Oh, god, Nick. Did you…you didn't…"

"He jumped."

"What did you say?"

"Tanner's death was not murder. It was no accident. It was suicide."

_----------_

_Nick turned around and all at once, a chill ran up his spine, he felt as though he would puke, and tears filled his eyes. Tanner was gone._

_Nick stood still, frozen it a moment that should never have happened. He ran to the edge of the cliff, barely stopping before falling off. He fell to his knees, and the scraping of the skin, the pain, let him know that this was not some horrible nightmare, but harsh reality. _

"_Tanner!" His scream echoed on and on. "Tanner!" He screamed again, as if repeating the name would bring his friend back. For what seamed like and eternity, Nick knelt on the edge of the cliff. "What am I going to do?" He wondered. He knew no one would believe the truth. Tanner, to common knowledge, had not been suicidal. The might think he pushed him. And what if they asked why he jumped? Suddenly, Nick felt a dark presence, an icy cold deep inside him. He felt there was an evil spirit in the place that wanted to hurl him off the side of the side of this once peaceful spot to join his friend at the rock bottom. He was genuinely afraid._

_He sprang up from the ground and rushed over to his horse. He untied him, leapt on his back and dug his heals into the animal's side. Bolt protested loudly and took off down the well-worn trail. Nick was on his way home as fast as Bolt could carry him. He rode like the wind until he reached the stables. As he dismounted, his foot caught in the syrups and he fell to the ground, flat on his face. He clumsily pulled himself up und ran, tripping as he went, to he house. _

_He burst through the back door and dashed through the kitchen into the living room, and smacking into his father. Nick stared up at him and felt small and trapped. He was unable to repress the tears that were streaming down his dirt-covered face. _

"_What happened?" The towering man inquired in a voice that, under the circumstances, could have been a bit kinder._

"_Th…there's been an accident."_

"_Nick," the judge's eyes widened, "Where's Tanner?"_

"_It was an accident!" Swore the frightened teen. "Jeda got spooked and reared up and threw Tanner over Buckman's Cliff!"_

_And so began the lies. He would lie to their families, the police, kids at school, everyone. No one would ever know the truth about what happened to Tanner Woods._

No one until now.

"You and I are the only living people on the planet who know the truth. I couldn't put his mother through that. Besides, no one would have believed it, not about Tanner. And if they did believe he jumped, they would have wanted to know why he jumped."

"Do you know why?"

"Yeah, I know why."

"Then why?"

Nick looked Catherine in the eyes for the first time this conversation. "Cath. I love you. I've confided in you a lot. You know things that no one else does. But some things just need to be left unsaid."

They said nothing more of it. Nick sat with Catherine until she fell into a deep sleep. He stood up, planted a soft kiss on her cheek, and quietly slipped out of the room. He wandered down the hall and came upon an empty, closed off waiting room, and went inside and sat down. He buried his face in his hands and wept freely, as memories flowed with the tears.

_----------_

_The two boys arrived on horseback at their destination: Buckman's Cliff, where Nick's father's land ended, where one could see the Dallas sky line perfectly, and where two best friends, fourteen year old Nick Stokes and fifteen year old Tanner Woods, came at least twice a week, either by themselves or with a group. But a group of teen boys made to much noise. Nick and Tanner liked the quiet of the place. You couldn't hear a sound unless you made it yourself._

_The boys tied their horses to a tree and walked over and sat down on the edge of the cliff, their feet dangling over the side. They had been here countless times before; they knew what they were doing._

_For a while they did not speak. They just sat and enjoyed the view, the peace and quiet, and each other's company. After a few minutes, Nick spoke up. "So I saw you talking to Robby today."_

"_Robby?"_

"_Yeah, Robby Younger, the gay kid. What's up, is he harassing you again?"_

"_No, we were just…" _

"_Just what? 'Cause I'll kick his ass if I need to."_

"_NO!" Tanner shouted. Nick stared at Tanner in disbelief. "Nick we need to talk."_

"_Okay, I'm listening."_

"_I've never really had a father figure, you know? I mean, your dad's the closest thing I have, but he's almost a politician and I don't like those very much. No offence."_

"_None taken."_

"_Anyway, since my dad died when I was little, I never, I don't know, had a man to back me up, I guess. My mom raised me, and she never exposed me to the tough guy scene. I guess that's what caused it."_

"_Are you trying to tell me what I think you're trying to tell me?"_

"_Yeah, Nick. I'm gay."_

"_Oh."_

_Neither boy said anything for quite some time before Tanner continued. "I kept it quiet for a long time, but I couldn't take it anymore. So last week when my uncle Jerry came to visit, I came out to him. I trusted him and I thought he would understand since he's gay, too. But it was a huge mistake. He told me…"_

_Nick put his hand on Tanners shoulder to comfort him. "It's okay. What did he tell you?"_

_Bitter tears escaped Tanner's emerald eyes. "He said 'If you want to be gay, I'll show you gay.'" _

"_Oh my god, he didn't!"_

"_Yes he did. I was afraid to tell anyone."_

"_Because you thought no one would believe you?"_

"_Exactly."_

"_Yeah. I know how you feel on that note." Nick hadn't meant to say that, and it obviously pissed Tanner off._

_Tanner stood up, grabbed Nick by the collar of his shirt, and pulled him to his feet. Had Tanner let go, Nick would have lost balance and fallen to his death. "Don't you dare say that! No one knows how I feel! NO ONE!"_

_Nick wanted to beg Tanner to pull him away from the side, but he knew it wouldn't help him. He knew that if this boy wanted to do something, he was going to do it. That's just who Tanner was. _

_Tanner could see the fear in Nick's eyes. He yanked forward, sending Nick stumbling away from the edge. "I'm sorry, Nick. I didn't mean to…"_

"_It's okay. You're right. I'm sorry."_

_Another awkward silence came between the two boys._

"_I'm with Robby." Tanner said._

"_Yeah, sort of figured."_

"_You hate Robby."_

"_I don't' hate Robby. I just don't like him because he harassed me last year."_

"_This will ruin our friendship. I can't live without that, Nick."_

"_Did you expect us to be the same? Things will be different between us, but not the way you think. Tanner, I…" For some reason, Nick stopped himself._

"_You what?"_

"_Nothing. I think we should go back." Nick turned his back to his friend and approached the horses. He could not here Tanner follow. Nick turned around and all at once, a chill ran up his spine, he felt as though he would puke, and tears filled his eyes. Tanner was gone._

"Nick. Nick?"

Nick's reverie was interrupted by Warrick shaking his shoulder and saying his name.

"Nicky, man, are you okay?"

Nick whipped the tears from his face and stood from his chair. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

"I heard about what happened to Cat. Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she woke up earlier, but she went back to sleep. Doctors say she'll make a full recovery."

"That's a relief. So are you sure you'll be fine?"

"Yes, Warrick I'm good, I just need to be alone."

"Okay, well I'll leave you alone then."

"No, it's okay. I think I'll go take a drive."

_ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo _

It was dark out. No one knew Nick came to this place. It was dark, warm, and quiet on this abandoned boat doc on Lake Mead. He lay on the rough wood and gazed up at the stars. He remembered Tanner used to say that stars were windows in heaven where guardian angels watched over all the people at night. Nick wondered if Tanner could see him now. He did not say what he wanted to say to his friend. Part of him wished he would have, but part of him was glad he had not.

"Things would have been different." He said out loud. Nick often spoke his thoughts here. He knew no one could hear him, except maybe the angels looking down on the city through those little twinkling lights.

The words unspoken played in Nick's mind like a scratched CD. He knew Tanner could see him. He could feel it. He realized that if ever he anted to be at peace with that day on Buckman's Cliff, he had to tell Tanner what he had meant to tell him all those years ago.

"Tanner I…

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**The End. Hay, the title says it all. What did Nick want to say to Tanner? That is open to any and all interpretation.**


End file.
